


The Key

by MrMundy



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Lots of headcanon, M/M, Minor Character Death, but not to teldryn of course, references to teldryn serious, teldryn's Very Sad backstory that i use, the deaths are very minor characters, whenever i do anything with him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 11:03:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17222807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrMundy/pseuds/MrMundy
Summary: “So, what’s this?” Ariquar said, his hand resting on top of the necklace Teldryn wore.“That, dearest, is a very long, very sad story.” He said.“I have time to listen, if you wish.”-------Teldryn explains a very important trinket to the Dragonborn.





	The Key

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first time i'm posting any fic related to my dragonborn and his relationship with teldryn and what do you know, most of it is just teldryn!
> 
> if you're curious about him, you can find him at my toyhou.se, right here:  
> [Toyhou.se Link](https://toyhou.se/1205828.ariquar)

“So, what’s this?” Ariquar said, his hand resting on top of the necklace Teldryn wore. They were lying down together, curled up under blankets, legs tangled together. He heard a heavy sigh as Teldryn’s hand swept up to brush his hand away, taking the key on the leather strap into his fingers and fiddling with it. **  
**

“That, dearest, is a very long, very sad story.” He said.

“I have time to listen, if you wish.”

He watched as Teldryn seemed to think it over, his expression shifting from hesitation into something softer.

“I suppose I don’t mind.” Teldryn let go of the key, turning his eyes upward to the ceiling. He watched the light from the singular lit lantern in the room flit across the ceiling, making shadows warp and twirl.

“So, I’ll skip over how we got into Windhelm, but after my mother, myself, and my brother got out of Morrowind…”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Mother, please. You need to eat, or else you’re not going to get better.” Teldryn said, his voice wavering with worry. He barely had a beard, his hair tied back in a long, sides-shaved style.

He held a bowl of broth in his hands, held out in front of an elderly dunmer. She was staring off at the window, a small, pitiful pane of glass covered in dust, her white hair all tossed into a haphazard bun. She shook her head, saying nothing.

“Please. Teldryn worked so hard to afford this,” The younger dunmer boy said, hand resting on their mother’s shoulder. He had short, cropped hair and was dressed in numerous layers, hiding his small figure.

When the elder did nothing, Teldryn set the bowl onto the countertop and stepped toward the younger elf, pulling him into a one-armed hug.

“Keep an eye on her, Falvrius, try to get her to eat something, alright?” He said, only releasing the boy when he nodded. “I’ll be back.”

Teldryn took his scarf from its place hanging beside the door, heading out to make some coin at one of the local farms.

Within the next week, Miriosa Sero had passed, leaving her two sons behind.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“I’m back!” Teldryn yelled into the apartment, armor clattering as he stepped through the door. He heard shuffling down the hall and soon enough, his brother came stumbling out, hair grown out past his ears, a hopeful look across his face. 

“Feels like it’s been weeks.” Falvrius said, latching onto the older dunmer in a tight hug. Teldryn chuckled.

“It has been. But look, look, I’ve got this.” Stepping away, Teldryn managed to untie a pouch from his belt and empty it onto the table. Coins came rolling out, one clattering to the floor.

“You’re getting better at this mercenary thing, Teldryn.”

“Well, if it’s the only thing that’s going to make us enough money to eventually get out of this skeever hole, I better be good at it.” Teldryn sighed, rolling his shoulders, taking a moment to glance at the sword he’d propped up by the door. He was going to have to clean it, sharpen it, along with cleaning his armor…

Mercenary work came with its own costs, even if it did make him more money than farming ever had. He supposed he could let the blade go a bit longer without cleaning. Falvrius needed the coin more.

“Come on, let’s go get something to make dinner.” He patted his little brother’s shoulder, tugging him toward the door. “And get you some fresh air, huh?”

“How fresh can it really be? Smells like nords, fish, and ale out there.” Falvrius laughed, though Teldryn noted the soft wheeze in his voice.

“Ah, better than dust. Or the orc I was working with, I’ll tell you all about him.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“You’ll take him the medicine, every day, right?” Teldryn said, leaning against the countertop of the general store. Sadri’s Used Wares - Revyn had just opened it up a few weeks ago, after finally making enough coin to clean the building up.

“Every day, Teldryn. I’m not going to forget, and you just need to focus on working.” Revyn said, meticulously arranging books on the sale shelves.

“I know, but I can’t help but worry. I could be gone for a month, maybe longer.” Teldryn’s gaze followed the dunmer in front of him, fiddling with small things here and there.

“And he’ll be here when you get back. I know you’re protective of him, and for good reason. Just try to make enough to move out of this place - gods know you deserve it.”

“Hopefully we’ll be out of here soon. Maybe we’ll go to Whiterun. Riverwood, perhaps. Then I’ll send you some coin and you can move shop, eh?” Teldryn stepped away from the counter, hands spread out to either side, brows raised.

“I don’t know, I just opened this one. And the elves around here need someone to provide for them.” Revyn turned to a stool and dropped down onto it, leaning his elbow onto the small table with a heavy sigh. “I was hoping this place would do some good for us all. Bring in something. Who knows.”

“I suppose that’s a good reason to stick around.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Teldryn. Oh, thank gods I found you. Come here.”  Revyn grabbed at Teldryn’s shoulder, guiding him toward his shop. “You need to sit down.”

“What? No, I just got - It’s been three months, let me go see Fal--” He tried to get away, but Revyn’s grip was strong as he pulled at him.

He put up a fight, but Teldryn ended up dragged into Revyn’s store, the door closed and locked behind them.

“What’s this about, Revyn?” Crossing his arms, he narrowed his eyes at the other dunmer. A sense of foreboding came over him, and he feared the worst - why else would his friend pull him away before he could get into his apartment?

“It’s Falvrius.” Revyn said, hands clasped together in front of him. He dug at his skin with his thumb, a nervous tic Teldryn had noticed years ago.

“He’s - he’s doing alright, right?” Suddenly, Teldryn felt as though he wasn’t there, as though he was simply watching this play out, unable to control his actions.

“A few weeks ago, we found him…”

The pounding in his ears seemed to block out most of Revyn’s words, but Teldryn knew what he was saying. Falvrius was gone. They’d found his body in his apartment, a note on the kitchen table. Gold stashed under the pillows.

“Did - Are his…” Teldryn’s throat was tight. He couldn’t speak.

“His ashes are in the apartment.”

Teldryn fell silent for several long, tense minutes before uttering a single phrase.

“I’m going to be sick.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The note was found folded neatly on the kitchen table. Inside was a key to the apartment, rusted and old, to the apartment they'd shared.

 

 _To Teldryn, my brother –_  
  
_I have begun to feel the same weariness that Mother felt. My soul aches when I think of her, of father, of our brothers…_  
  
_I miss them, and I miss you. I know you are out there, fighting, and I know you will return with a smile and a purse full of coin. You always do._  
  
_I may not be here when you next return. I feel myself slipping, just as Mother did._  
  
_I ask of you one thing, Teldryn._

 _Stay strong for me. For mother. For father. For everyone we’ve lost._  
  
_You’ve always been the bravest of us all._  
  
_So keep fighting, brother.  Do not let yourself give into this weariness._

 _I love you, Teldryn._  
  
_Your brother,_  
_Falvrius Sero_

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

He left Windhelm for a few years after that. Left his brother’s ashes with Revyn and went out to throw himself into mercenary work. He frequented bars, ordered ale with anyone who would allow him, and fought things twice his size for barely any coin at all.

 _At least if I die fighting, I’ll die feeling something,_  Teldryn thought.

Battle, where he could let free his anger and despair in the form of fire and the clash of metal against metal, was the only thing that motivated him. He grew stronger, and despite not caring about the money he made working, he began to charge more. He knew he was worth the coin - why wouldn’t someone want a dunmer willing to kill without remorse by their side in the wilds?

The letter went everywhere with him, until the ink had run off of it and the fibers of the paper fell apart. After that, he put the key onto a leather string and wore it under his armor, refusing to let go.

He only came back to Windhelm after being hired by a nord who lived there. Unfortunately, he ended up caught up in a mess that lead to wanted posters and a ransom on his head. So he boarded a ship and ran to Solstheim, offering his work there, escaping his past.

Had it gone his way, he’d have simply waited out the nord woman who wanted him dead, let her die in a few decades. But of course, that’s not what fate wanted. Ultimately, he had to face his actions and set things right.

But not without the dragonborn by his side, of course.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Ariquar knew the rest of the story. He’d gotten swept up in it after he’d hired Teldryn to guide him around Solstheim, but he’d never heard of Teldryn’s years in Windhelm. Quietly, he rested his hand against the side of Teldryn’s face as the dunmer finished speaking. Teldryn leaned into the touch, eyes closing.

“I’m sorry,” Ariquar breathed, his thumb brushing Teldryn’s cheekbone with a tender gentleness.

“I’m alright now.” Teldryn said. They shifted, and he pressed his forehead against Ariquar’s, breathing slow. The key around his neck swung slightly with his movement.

Outside, the nighttime insects began to chirp and guards began to light the lanterns lining the road through Riverwood. In the privacy and quiet of their home, things felt peaceful.

Finally.

**Author's Note:**

> find me at tellydryn or mistermundee @ tumblr, or just teldryn on waterfall.social! :3c


End file.
